Crooked Road CD Series [Back]

Linda Lay & Sammy Shellor:
Taking the Crooked Road Home

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Among her inspirations and dearest friends were Jeanette and Joe Carter, son and daughter of A.P. and Sara Carter of the original Carter Family.  Their Carter Family Fold, a barn-like performing place, is at the Carter home place at Hiltons in Scott County, a few miles to the west of Clayman Valley. Linda began going to the Fold as a child, and spent her teen years there, enjoying Jeanette’s hugs and Joe’s wonderful jokes.

The Fold was also one of the first places where Linda performed with her band, and she was able to meet scores of fine musicians who come by this holy place of country music almost every week.  Bluegrass was born in this region, and all its heroes have left tracks here. Linda made her mark first as a child as a flatfoot dancer, but her father soon had her performing on guitar, later learning the bass from the local fiddling barber, Gene Boyd. She also took up and mastered the autoharp. She can plays mandolin as well. She became a musician’s musician, able to hear and instantly fix almost any musical problem, a favorite at the jam sessions that are a mainstay of music everywhere along the Crooked Road.

She was a founding member and played for twenty years with Appalachian Trail, an innovative string band, and became its featured singer.  David Lay is among the brilliant musicians she met in those years, and the one that impressed her most.  Their marriage is full of love and harmony; their voices blend beautifully in a duet, and he is her favorite rhythm guitarist. It was David who encouraged her to venture out to tour with other musicians, and he is always beside her.

Both Linda and Sammy love good stories; they are as prized as good melodies along the Crooked Road.  So they looked for good story songs, some to lift the spirit, some to raise the hair. They found both, and great songs about places and real history as well. They sat with David and his guitar, talked arrangements, and decided which of their many musical pals would most enjoy sharing a ride on the Crooked Road.  So they called Jeff, Ron, and David McLaughlin and the session that ensued does honor to all the musicians, melody makers, and writers who have walked the Crooked Road.  I hope you enjoy it.

-Joe Wilson

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